In this webinar, presented by the Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health (ATMCH) Workforce Development Committee, you will hear from John Richards, of the MCH Navigator, on where and how to find public health information online that you need in your daily work, regardless of what your job is or how long you’ve […]
Category: Media
Map of Social Media in the States
The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) has collected a list of state public health departments with Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Using video storytelling to provide health education across 52 languages
HRSA profiles the work of the International Community Health Services (ICHS), a health center in the Seattle area, that provides a model for how health centers can offer culturally competent care to a linguistically diverse clientele. – Read more on how how health centers can offer culturally competent care to a linguistically diverse clientele
Is there a Plan b for Plan B?
Plan B One-Step is a single-dose emergency contraceptive pill that contains higher levels of levonorgestrel, a hormone found in some birth control pills, and has been available in the U.S. since 2009. Its effectiveness is linked with timeliness of use: the drug should be taken within 72 hours of intercourse. The Food and Drug Administration […]
Controversy over Co-Sleeping: A PubH Campaign
A controversial public health campaign coming from Milwaukee targets infant and caregiver bed sharing. 20% of Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate is attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy (SUDI); it is the 7th worst in the country, with also large disparity rates (Black infant mortality rates are almost 3 […]
Ad Council takes on Unintended Pregnancies
Today CNN covered an opinion piece from Laura Sessions Stepp, a Pulitzer Prize journalist and former Washington Post reporter, on young adults and contraception. The Ad Council has accepted a proposal from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy to run a series of ads targeting adults in their 20’s to use birth […]
Health Campaigns: APHA Day 2
Sitting on the floor in a crowded room of public health professionals, everyone gathered at American Public Health Association’s annual conference (day 2) to hear about social media and its application in promoting health. With people standing against walls and overflowing into the hallway, Miguel Gomez from AIDS.gov started his presentation describing how and when people want to […]
When is neutrality not enough?
Minnesota made national headlines recently regarding the Anoka-Hennepin county school district’s policy on bullying. The New York Times reported that civil right lawsuits and investigations are currently underway to address complaints of harassment of gay students and teachers’ responses. The district’s current policy is to remain neutral and avoid conversations on sexual diversity. The lawsuit […]
Down Syndrome Awareness Day
At the heart of MCH are the families: the women, the infants, the children, the youth, the caregivers, the extended kin networks — those among us who are most vulnerable. Their voices bring shape and color to our work. The parents of children with special health care needs have always held special place in this […]
Edward Ehlinger appointed Health Commissioner
More news in the good-for-Minnesotans (and GREAT for MCH) category… Edward Ehlinger — former medical director at the University of Minnesota’s Boynton Medical Center and adjunct faculty at the School of Public Health — was recently appointed Commissioner of Health by Governor Mark Dayton. Ehlinger is a stalwart proponent of public health, one who regularly […]
Becoming a data detective: some advice from David McCandless
Looking for the perfect gift for the epidemiologist in your life? Self-described “data journalist” David McCandless hopes you’ll consider his book, “The Visual Miscellaneum: A Colorful Guide to the World’s Most Consequential Trivia,” now available in stores. Based on data he’s gathered from varied sources as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the European Environment […]
You’re getting your flu shot… Right?
With flu season upon us, Adam Ruban’s piece for NPR hit a nerve for this reader. As Ruban notes, “tens of millions” of expired H1N1 vaccine were destroyed this past summer — meaning that millions of Americans decided to forgo vaccination and take their chances with a potentially deadly flu strand. According to the CDC, […]
Is Inequality Making Us Sick? Unnatural Causes – Free screening at UMN April 29, 2010
FACT: The average U.S. life expectancy, at 78.2 years, remains far below that of other developed nations. FACT: Even after adjusting for behaviors and access to health care, middle-class Americans live an average of three fewer years than their upper-class counterparts. FACT: African Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders have consistently poorer health outcomes than […]
Health ads from the past
These health-related ads from the previous century provide a funny (crazy? depressing?) reminder of how far we’ve come in public health. A few of them might also remind us that advertisements are not always the best place to get health information…
Let’s Move: What’s next?
My last post on “Let’s Move,” Michelle Obama’s new anti-obesity initiative, brought up a number of questions about the program’s ambitious goal: “To solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.” The main question, of course, is this: where will the money come from? Obama’s $400 million dollar Healthy Food Financing Initiative, as described […]